Never A Dull Moment

When my mother lived in Hawaii and I called to check up on her life there, she always said it was "just another day in Paradise".  That's how I feel about my stay in Fort Bragg, Ca. and the 9-month woodworking program here.  Instead of my feet in the sand, I have sawdust under my shoes and there's no better place I would rather be.  Plus, I live two doors down from the beach so not a bad beginning to my retirement.

Week 1:

It's all about getting out plane irons sharp.  If they're dull, there's no way anything is going to get made in the coming weeks.  Along with the irons, is the body of the plane.

Five years ago, I took the Tools and Techniques summer class and made these two planes: smoothing and a jointer.  Dull blades, poor cross pin alignment, and a lopsided wedge meant neither one worked well and, thus, they sat in my tool cabinet as reminders of the skills I needed to work on.  Instead of putting time and energy into improving those skills, I went for the pocket book and purchased some very nice guaranteed-to-work hand planes.  Happy woodworker but one who was lacking in skills.

Fast forward to the nine-month woodworking program and it's time to learn the correct ways in which to do all things concerning wood.

The cross pin is parallel to where the blade sits and my wedge fits perfectly!  Magic.  Not so lucky on the next plane but with a few adjustments with the side of the body, I was able to line that up too.  Knowing how to fix the "fixable" is so valuable!

Now a bit of shaping the plane so that it fits my hand.  Not only is it pretty but it feels soooo good!

After six 8-hour days of continuous woodwork, I finally noticed a cute pinup in the women's bathroom.